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SIRAS Reviews VG Console Returns

REDMOND, WASH. — SIRAS said that within the first 15 days of the
purchase of a video game system 50.3 percent of product returns are attempted.

Peter Junger, president of SIRAS, told TWICE that this aging return
analysis chart, the rate of attempted retail return for video games follows a
typical pattern. That is, about 80 percent of attempts are made within 30
days of purchase.

However, unlike other categories, the 30-day return curve follows a more
even distribution and a fairly symmetrical pattern, where 50 percent of returns
occur one to 15 days after purchase, and 13 percent to 15 percent
of returns are attempted either on the date of purchase or in the final two
weeks in the month of purchase (coinciding with the close of a 30-day return
period).

The category has an overall low return rate (not shown in this chart)
due in part because consumers are aware that retailers track product serial
numbers for game systems and strictly enforce return policies, the
company said.

A retailer whose aging-return pattern on games systems differs significantly from this may want to look into the situation, SIRAS said.